Gators need to give fans better home games if they want to fill Swamp

8:10 p.m. EST, August 24, 2012|Mike Bianchi, SPORTS COMMENTARY

Running off at the typewriter. …

There was a time when the University of Florida sold out every football game it played in the Swamp, but those bygone days have apparently departed to go spend more time with Urban Meyer's family. The Gators are begging fans to buy season tickets just like everybody else.

You want to know why?

I've got a mathematical formula to explain:

A bad team + a bad economy + bad home games = bad attendance.

The Gators can't do anything about the bad economy, and it's up to Coach Will Muschamp to improve the bad team, but there is something that can be done about the bad home games.

Florida — and Florida State, too, for that matter — need to quit playing home games against Al's Barber College and give fans some games that are worth the price of admission. Florida has seven home games this year, three of which are against Bowling Green, Louisiana-Lafayette and Jacksonville State. Who wants to spends thousands of dollars in booster contributions and hotel rooms when nearly half of the home schedule is against a bunch of humpty-dumpties?

A good rule of thumb: If you want your fans to buy tickets then give some games that are worth coming to see.

Short stuff: We had former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy on our radio show earlier this week, and he let it be known that everybody should take some criticism for last year's dysfunctional, Dwightmare of a season. "I'll take my share of the blame and management needs to take theirs," Van Gundy pointed out. I thought the most interesting thing SVG said is that former GM Otis Smith knew Dwight would be leaving the Magic "long before" last season and might have dealt him if he'd been given the OK from management. "It ultimately ended up not being his choice," Van Gundy said. …

Now that Lance Armstronghas been stripped of his seven Tour de Fraud victories, please tell me you're not gullible enough to believe he has been unfairly accused? Don't get me wrong, he is a hero to millions because he is a cancer survivor and because he has raised millions for cancer research, but as an athlete he is just like Barry Bonds and all of the other steroid users — a cheater. Seriously, does anybody really think that everybody in cycling was using performance-enhancing drugs except for the one athlete who dominated the sport like it has never been dominated before? If you believe that, I've got some oceanfront property in Topeka I'll sell you. …

I see where a potential hurricane may disrupt the Republican National Convention in Tampa. I'm just wondering who will blow more hot air during the convention — Tropical Storm Isaac or Rush Limbaugh? … Can you believe LeBron James' new Nike sneakers are selling for $315 a pair? I can just hear the poor dad talking to his kid now: "Son, it's your choice — you can either go to college or get a new pair of LeBrons." … That Mars space rover we sent up last week is already sending back pictures from the Red Planet. In fact, there is this one fuzzy photo of a strange and mysterious alien being. And now we finally know what happened to Fran Vazquez. … It's looking more and more like there will be a lockout in the NHL. Philosophical question: If there is a lockout and nobody notices, is it still a lockout?" … The Dolphins have named rookie Ryan Tannehill as their starting quarterback. Is this a reward or a sentence? … I'm not saying Gators football coach Will Muschamp tries to restrict the flow of information coming out of the UF program, but he is only now confirming that Emmitt Smith has decided to forgo his senior season to turn pro.

Open Mike

Don't forget, you can click on OrlandoSentinel.com and read the wildly popular Open Mike blog and interactive extravaganza to get my freshest takes on what's happening in the world of sports. Here's an excerpt from a recent blog about how fantasy football owners should definitely avoid drafting Maurice Jones-Drew in the first round.

Don't do it.

Don't even think about doing it.

Don't waste your first-round fantasy football draft pick on the NFL's leading rusher — Maurice Jones-Drew, the holdout running back of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

So says CBSSports.com's Jamey Eisenberg, arguably the premier fantasy football expert in the country. Eisenberg said he wouldn't choose MJD even late in the first round.

"Too rich for me," Eisenberg says. "You look at the history of holdout running backs, and it's not good. There is somebody that is fresh on everybody's mind and that's Chris Johnson last year."